Gearshift roll stop wringer



July 16, 1940. ETTEN 2,208,250

GEARSHIFT ROLL STOP WRINGER Filed April 26, 1939- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f 1 E QM I g i #7 g i 1 I N E V gave/2502: M'aohsJZ/fwz y 6, 1940. N. 1.. ETTEN GEARSHIFT ROLL STOP WRINGER Filed April 26, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 cfizveiz 2 07 afar A Zifea 7 i w A; 11: 5M1? H I W %N \W MN W 1 I SN 1-; LEM; N

Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes wringers for domestic washing machines and particularly to a safety device for stopping rotation of the rolls when roll pressure is released.

In cases of wringer accidents it has been found that continued rotation of the rolls is responsible for a large share of the damage arising from such accidents, and, therefore, it is equally important to stop rotation of the rolls as it is to release roll pressure.

Roll stop devices as heretofore provided, have included various declutching means to stop rotation of the rolls, but in the present invention I have employed the roll drive gear in the conventional reversing gear head as a clutch memher. This develops a simple, sturdy structure wherein the natural out-thrust of the drive gear is utilized to effect roll stop in a novel manner as will be disclosed in the following descriptions and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a broken elevation view showing the wringer rolls under normal roll pressure and the roll drive gear in the reversing gear head in driving engagement; and

Fig. 2 is a similar broken elevation view showing the roll pressure released and the roll drive gear disengaged.

Now referring to the drawings in which I show a preferred embodiment of the invention, I designate the lower frame of the wringer by the numeral l9, and by the numeral I l the upper frame. The assembled wringer structure is mounted on a wringer head 12 driven by a coupling l3 which connects to a vertical drive shaft from the wringer drive mechanism. The wringer head is controlled in a conventional manner by the control handle ll.

Although I show as a preferred embodiment of my invention a spur and face gear drive in the wringer head, it will be understood that this is only a preferred structure and that the conventional miter gears might be employed to obtain similar results.

An upper roll 15 and a lower roll l6 are mounted in the wringer frame. The top frame is held on the lower frame by a conventional integral latch I1 on its outer end and by an unstable latching device on its inner end. This unstable latch consists of a rounded projection 18 on the top frame held by a latch l9 hinged to the lower frame as shown. A retaining latch 29 retains the hinged latch I9 and is controlled by a conventional release device (not shown) through the release button 2 I. The rolls are held, in pressure engagement by a conventional spring means 23 (not shown) having a pressure adjustment screw 22.

The upper roll is journaled in bearings 24 and 25. The inner end of the lower roll is journaled on a bearing 28 pivotally mounted on a cross rod 5 21. The purpose of this construction is to provide means whereby any slight misalignment of the bearing coupling 32 will be compensated for by tilting of the bearing 26 on the cross rod 21. The outer end of the lower roll is journaled in 10 a bearing 28 mounted in a steel shoe 29 having a curved upper lip 29 abutting the outer end of the lower roll shaft 16. The bearing 28 and its shoe 29 is supported on a cross member 30 having an upturned lip 3| abutting the lower edge of the shoe 15 29. The purpose of this construction will later be apparent.

The inner end 40 of the lower roll it is journaled in the bearing 26 which is pivotally supported bya cross pin 21. It will be appreciated 20 that by this structure any tilting of the lower roll IE will not bind the shaft 49 in the bearing 26 because the bearing is free to pivot on the pin 21. The shaft 40 is connected to the drive gear 38 by a pin 39. I purposely make the fit of this connection rather loose in order to provide play whereby the lower roll it may be tilted without binding. Between the bearing 26 and the inner end of the roll 16 I mount a compression spring 4| which normally urges the lower roll outward, as will readily be apparent from observation of the drawings.

The reversing gear head l2 has a vertical drive shaft 32 on which is mounted the reversing gears 33 and 34. In the preferred structure as shown, these gears are spur gears which normally mesh with the face drive gear 39 as shown. Although the reversing spur gears 33 and 34 are slidably mounted on the shaft 32, they may be driven by clutch contact with the pins 35 and 36 as they 40 are raised or lowered by the eccentric pin 31 and the yoke 31 actuated by the control handle ll. This is a conventional arrangement well understood in the art, and it is not believed that any further description of the operation of the reversing gear head is necessary.

Now referring to Fig. 2, I show the top frame just after having been released, the operator having touched the release button 2|, which permits the retainer latch 29 to slide endwise, thus releasing the hinged latch l9 and permitting the top frame to move upward. This upward movement of the top frame H is accomplished in a dual movement wherein the upper frame is tilted upward and then slides outwardly to release the 55 integral latch l1. With roll pressure released the spring 4| now forces the lower roll outwardly, tilting the outer bearing 23 in its shoe 23 pivoting about the vertical lip 3| of the supporting member 33. This action is further assisted by the natural outward thrust of the gear 33 in its tooth contact with the gears 33 and 34. It is well understood in the art that this outward thrust is directly proportional to the driving eflort exerted by the gears and that under heavy-loads the outward thrust is of considerable magnitude, and if not resisted, would result in the immediate separation and disengagement of the gears. It will, therefore, be understood that I have utilized this natural outward thrust of the gears to effect disengagement and roll stop in a natural and effective manner. It will be appreciated that in this movement the entire lower roll and shaftis the sliding member and it is of such length that no binding friction will be developed. This is quite a difierent structure from small, short clutch couplings wherein such binding action is much more liable to occur than in my structure where the entire lower roll shaft is the movable member. Further, it will be appreciated that the upward tilting movement of the bearing 23 has very little binding effect and this likewise contributes to the eflectiveness of my device.

When the upper frame is again latched on the lower frame and roll pressure restored, it will readily be appreciated that the lower roll, pivoting inward on the tilted bearing 23, will move easily with a minimum of interference to again efiect engagement of the drive gear 33 with the reversing gears'33 and 34.

In general, I have provided a structure wherein the fewest possible number of parts are employed and the clutching element of the roll stop is the driven gear in the reversing gear head mounted on the driven roll shaft. This structure employs not only the fewest number of parts, but the length of the moving member, namely, the entire driven roll is such that it is very much less liable to bind and otherwise become inoperative than any structure wherein smaller and shorter clutch elementsare employed. Further, it will be apparent that in employing the outward thrust of the drive gear to eflect disengagement of the gears and roll stop, I am employing a natural force that is increased in proportion to the driving effort and thus becomes more eiiective as the need for disengagement is increased.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim:

1. In a wringer, a reversing gear hand drive, a frame, a pair of cooperative pressure rolls, roll pressure release and reset means, a drive gear of the gear head attached to the driven roll, said .drive gear being held in driving relationship in the gear head by said driven roll and removed from driving relationship by longitudinal movement of the driven roll, and means to move the driven roll to effect disengagement of the drive gear when roll pressure is released and to effect reverse movement and gear engagement when roll pressure is restored.

2. In a wringer, a reversing gear head drive, a frame, a pair of cooperative pressure rolls, roll pressure release and reset means, a drive gear of the gear head attached to the driven roll, said drive gear being held in driving relationship in the gear head by said driven roll and removed from driving relationship by longitudinal movement of the driven roll, and a tilting outer bearing on the driven roll co-acting with the outward thrust of the drive gear and a compression spring to eilfect disengagement of the drive gear when roll pressure is released and to eflfect reverse movement of the driven roll and gear engage.- ment when roll pressure is restored.

3. In a wringer, a reversing gear head drive, a frame, a pair of cooperative pressure rolls, roll pressure release and reset means, a drive gear of the gear head attached to the driven roll, and means to effect longitudinal movement of the driven roll and drive gear whereby the drive gear is disengaged when roll pressure is released and by reverse movement to effect gear engagement when roll pressure is restored.

NICHOLAS L. mm. 

